Mickey Thompson Picture Thread

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hey muttley, do you have that catalog/book?

 

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Yes

 

I've checked the bay...if you come up with any more or know of one for sale, let me know if you would...that would be pretty cool to have!

 

Will do.

 

m/t olds center 57-64

 

Kool - Thanks

 

Neat thread.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

Can anyone tell me which engines were in whick color of the Bonneville Mustangs in post #5?

 

Mickey was one of the hot rod legends I would have loved to have met. The guy tried everything, had great success at Bonneville and the NHRA and terrible tragedy at Indy, but he never gave up. His innovative "out-of-the-box" thinking produced some amazing machines.

Smokey Yunick didn't give out compliments very often, but he was really fond of Mickey. He said, "Mickey had balls the size of an elephant's"

That about sums it up.........

 

I do not know. This was the cover of October 1969 Hot Rod Magazine.

 

No photos but one of the best Car guy books I ever read was Mickey's book Challenger. He started out running on a really low budget for his race cars and among other things dug used pistons out of scrap bins behind shops to use in his race car and used the boring bar his wife bought him to be able to fit the pistons he found.

 

If you haven't read the newest book on him called "The Fast Life and Tragic Death of Mickey Thompson" you should! Its a great book!

 

Back inthe mid 70's I started racing Off Road Desrt. M/T came up with a great ideal for keeping shocks cool. Simple little aluminum what look like hats that slipped over the shock bodies. I had to pick them up at his shop in Wilmington California. I walked into his shop and there he was, the nicest warm greeting I got from him was amazing. Here I am 19 and there he was, in fact he took me for a tour of his shop, There was his funny Car that Danny Ongais drove and on a rack there she was The Challenger, wow. After that experience he always remembered me at the races and would make time to come and at least say hi or ask how things were going. I raced many of his Coliseum raes he put on and a fine promoter he was, a true Gentleman!

 

Few of him and 4 banger rail.

 

This shot is Bill Burke and Mickeys venture into Fiberglass.
Their business was in Alhambra, right where Mickey,Bill grew up. The car was copied off of Robert Petersen's Cistaila Sports Car. The car was powered by a Flatty had a straight axle and Ford torque tube drive axle, It's color was yellow and was sponsored by Sonny's Muffler in Monterey Park. Bill got an Advertising job at Sports Car Graphic which was also a Petersen publication, He retired from McMullen Publishing in the late 70's.
This shot is at Cook's Machine Works-Cyclone Racing Equipment. 4845 Telegraph Rd. L.A.22,CALIF. Ol man Cook did all of that drive line work, which included 4 Cyclone quickies, 2 La Salle trans' and a way to make this sucker all wheel drive. Powered by 4 Pontiacs, 406 mph was well within reach and acheived. he couldn't back the run up for a record, due to a failed engine,he informed the officials/media that it was a driveline failure=not very good for us, especially since all of the driveline work never had been paid for.

Mickey had very good reason to say what he did,because as a result of his choosing these Tin Indians, he was given a very good sponsorship, which included support vehicles,so he did not want to bite the hand that feeds.

Great thread and lots of Mickey History.

 

The guy trying out the rail is none other than Sir Jack Brabham, Formula One driver/constructor.

 

Ok I just found out that the red one has a 302, the blue has a 351, and the yellow has a 427 in it.


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The more I read about the man (MICKEY THOMPSON) the more I feel he rates right there with Carroll Shelby, no he did`t build a car everybodys heard of but give him credit he was a hands on man, raced everything,built-manufactured about anything to do with racing,from dirt in the desert-indy-the quarter mile and on salt !! Promoted drag racing-dirt racing and was one of the first to take it inside. Sorry for going on like this but looking back he was a hell of a person. He lived life WFO!

 

M/T pontiac

 

Two cars owned by Mickey Thompson...



Kurtis 500SX powered by a one-off Pontiac 370 c.i. engine. Magnesium everywhere. Hilborn injection. Strarted life with a Cadillac engine but Thompson was sponsored by Pontiac so they had this engine built for the car. 500hp in a 2200 lb car will get your attention in a hurry. The fastest street sweeper around...



The Super Mustang. Thompson owned it for 20 years from 1968 until his untimely death in 1988.

Both cars are in a private collection in Alberta, Canada now.

 

More Mickey and his Blown Ponty 4-banger rail.

 

One of his funny cars was at BOWLING GREEN this past summer.

 

Mickey was one of the COOLEST, I like collecting M/T items, the best thing I have is a autographed cover to his book hardback Challenger, and a Christmas card to Don Garlits that he signed.....Mickey was and still is Cool....

 

Is this yours or do you know where it came from? I found two years ago through Hemmings, one had the liners stuck part way in and the other had them seated but not cut to the deck yet. There was supposed to be a third with no liners but I don't think I ever received pictures of it. At that time Indian Adventures was willing to drill the oil galleys on the "Chief Many-Horeses" line for me.

 

Some M/T stuff.... and the FE blower intake I'm searching for.